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FEBRUARY 28 , 2018 — VOLUME 201 NUMBER 1
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Bringing Crypto Out of the Shadows
IF YOU ’ RE LOOKING for the statesman of cryptocurrency , you could do worse than Joe Lubin , the soft-spoken founder of Consensys , which helps big companies with blockchain and launches products based on the Ethereum platform , which he cofounded . His peers apparently agree : When he sat down with me recently to discuss his concerns about our inaugural list of crypto-asset tycoons — we found ten who hover near $ 1 billion and another ten who could be on their way — he said he spoke for himself and others in the ranking .
Lubin suggested that he and his ilk were simple programmers who weren ’ t looking for public attention . He made this argument at the World Economic Forum , as we sat in a private meeting room in the “ Ethereal Lounge ,” a three-floor building he ’ d quickly built out on Davos ’ main promenade . For a week , thousands of the world ’ s economic elite flooded in for panels , powwows and free drinks and food . Next door , a giant Crypto HQ drew similar throngs . Hardly signs of a person or industry trying to remain private — a point Lubin , from his Davos perch , conceded .
His second argument : How were we sure our numbers were right ? Fair question , one we ask ourselves perpetually . During 36 years tracking the world ’ s richest people , we ’ ve honed our methods but kept the underlying philosophy consistent : Err on the conservative side . It ’ s an imperfect science — and in this instance we ’ ve adopted ranges to factor in the lack of transparency and wild volatility .
Finally , Lubin brought up security : Since crypto sits outside the banking system , it ’ s more vulnerable to theft . True among the small fry , for sure . But those on this list ( and we spoke with almost everyone on it ) confirmed they ’ ve taken steps to protect themselves from hackers and thugs — breaking up passwords and storing pieces in safe deposits scattered across the country .
Ultimately , Lubin , along with other members of the crypto elite I chatted with , acknowledged the importance of this project . While even the biggest crypto bulls will privately acknowledge that 95 % of initial coin offerings are hype , scams or worse , a blockchain-enabled financial system of some kind is here to say . As in the dot-com boom in 1999 , some of these crypto billionaires will bust , the Pets . com of their era . Others will weather the inevitable reckoning and morph into something stronger , crypto ’ s eBay or Google . Our list provides a snapshot of a pivotal moment , part of the transparency needed to pull crypto away from its provenance as the favorite currency of drug dealers and into the adolescence of a legitimate asset class .
— RANDALL LANE , CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER
10 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28 , 2018